Principal proposes alternate valedictorian system
By GEORGE LEDBETTER, Record Editor Thursday, July 02, 2009
A proposal to change the method of selecting a class valedictorian, advanced by a group of graduating seniors at Chadron High School, has been countered by CHS principal Troy Lurz with a system he says is more workable.
At a school board meeting last month, the senior Student Council members said the current system of using overall Grade Point Average (GPA) has too often given valedictorian status to multiple students, with as many as a dozen named from one class. That, they said, watered down the value of the honor. The students suggested that teachers add ‘plus’ or ‘minus’ symbols onto the conventional letter grades for classes, thereby producing enough difference in scores even among all ‘A’ students, to reduce the ties for top honors.
At the school board meeting on June 8, Lurz said the students’ plan would be difficult to for teachers to implement, and instead suggested that the criteria include GPA, score on the ACT college entrance exam, and number of Advance Placement (AP) classes taken.
Had that system been in place, the 12 valedictorians in a recent graduating class would have been reduced to four, said Lurz. The school would still honor students with all ‘A’ grades, but “valedictorians would be left with more regal status.”
Lurz said he advanced the proposal because he had made a promise to the graduating seniors to seek a change in the way valedictorians are chosen, and the plan is simple enough to implement quickly. “We could do it immediately,” he said. “My recommendation is to employ it now.”
Board members had some questions about the idea, however. With a limited number of AP classes, the system would discriminate against a student whose interests weren’t in the areas with AP classes, said one board member.
Currently enrolled students who have been striving for the valedictorian honor might also have made different course selections if they had known of the criteria, said board member Tracy Nobiling.
The system might not eliminate all ties, but would likely reduce the number named valedictorian, Lurz acknowledged.
The discussion prompted comments from audience members regarding the importance of the valedictorian ranking. Jim Margetts, a Chadron State College professor, said he questions the importance of the honor on college applications, but agreed that “it devalues the valedictorian to have ten,” in one class.
Rhianna Young, a parent, said her talks with an admissions officer at Duke University indicate that the criteria are changing radically from the past, when class rank was very important. “It doesn’t carry that much weight anymore,” she said. “They are looking for individual character. It’s about who that student is as a person.”
The board took no action on Lurz’ suggestion, but asked him to research the methods used by other are schools to select their valedictorians. A proposal to change the current system may be advanced at the next board meeting.
In other business, the board:
4 approved a proposal from Fisher Track for resurfacing the CHS track, at a cost of $230,000. The work includes widening the running surface and improvements to the high jump pit;
4 learned from superintendent Dr. Sherlock Hirning that the district will lose about $66,000 in state aid next year, compared to an earlier projection of a loss of over $100,000. The district will see increased funding for Title 1 and Special Education in the state’s new plan, which may mean that some planned layoffs of paraprofessional staff in those areas can be avoided, Hirning said;
¥learned that the district has received 136 requests for attendance center transfers and has approved 125 and denied 11. The denials were based on student numbers and, in the case of rural schools, on whether the transfer would be into a grade level that had no other students at that school, Hirning said;
4 approved advertising for bids to remodel the CHS gym concessions area and lobby, at an estimated cost of about $50,000;
4 heard a report from Kenwood elementary school principal Lou Alcorn about use of a $10,000 Parent Information Resource Center grant. The money will fund purchase of computers and a smart board that will be placed in a room at the school which parents can use, and possibly for videos and other educational materials, she said;
4 heard a report from Reading First coordinator Michelle Heinen on the test scores used to measure the program’s effectiveness. Only the third grade class failed to meet the minimum required levels, she said.
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